Climbing the WALL

One year, when I was still an undergrad, I overcame my fear of heights (well, falling, actually) and climbed a rock wall. It was exhilarating, I loved it, and promptly forgot about it.

A few months ago, I visited my brother. He's a big fan of rockclimbing, so he took us to his climbing gym. We climbed for a while, and I really, really liked it. When I returned home, I promised myself that I would use the wall at my gym to climb more often.

Then I forgot about it.

Yesterday, I was at the gym with some time to kill until a fitness assessment. I had forgotten my ID, so by the time I made it back, the class I planned to attend had started. I played a game of racquetball with Lance, but then S. showed up to play with him, so I had to go find something to do for 20 minutes. Then I walked by the rock wall. So I went in and climbed it.

It was so much fun that after my fitness assessment, I went back and climbed some more. I can't explain why I--girl who is terrified of climbing tall ladders and is deeply afraid of falling off of things--really enjoy climbing. It's exhilarating--trying to figure out where to go next, keeping my grip on the rocks, planning my next move. And getting to the top. Even if I miss and "fall", I simply dangle there securely until I either try to grab back on or am lowered down.

I left the wall satisfied and content, knowing that I will be making regular time in the future to climb the wall.

Do You Run or Jog?

Although I am certainly not the most dedicated, consistent, or fastest person, I still call myself a runner. Why? Because I do nutty things like run in below freezing weather, get up at 5:30am to run 5 miles, or run 12 miles on a Sunday morning even though I could sleep in. I think that I qualify, even if I'm slow, lazy, or inconsistent--and why is because I love to run. I love it. I might not want to run even as I'm lacing up my shoes, but once I'm in motion, I'm happy. There is joy in running. Thus, I am a runner.

I was telling a friend about a beginners 5k program sponsored by the best running store in Fayetteville. He looked at me and said thoughtfully, "I once jogged a 5k." I replied, "Jogged? What is jogging?" He had clearly meant to say "jog" and not "run". We had a brief exchange until I made it clear that "jogging" meant something different than running. He jogged. I run.

Joggers do it because they have some notion that moving at faster than a walk is an efficient way to burn off the processed food that's making them heavier. There is no joy in jogging; it's too much like boring homework or a distasteful yet required task. It's like people who eat or drink certain things because they are "healthy," yet do not enjoy consuming it. I like to eat things that are tasty as well as healthy because I enjoy the experience and the fact that it's healthy generally means my body will appreciate eating it*.

Joggers do not enjoy the activity, whereas runners get enjoyment. Sure, running is hard. You have to do it more than once a week for it to be an easier. But watching the sun come up as I ran home this morning made me happy. I smiled. And it was a fantastic way to begin my day. Joggers don't get that satisfaction**. Runners do. So--do you run or do you jog?

*If I eat too much sugar--sadly, something that occurs more than it ought--I feel TERRIBLE. I've never felt like that when eating a giant salad or an apple.
**If you don't, find something that will. Like biking. Or playing racquetball. Yoga, Pilates, swimming, jumping up and down on a trampoline, chasing your kids, walking your dog, yard work, gardening, or that silly video that makes you giggle. Moving is good--if you hate to run, then don't do it. Just like if you hate yogurt, don't eat it.

The Sock Effect

As I was walking to the coffee shop for my lunch hour, I basked in the warm sunshine and contemplated running. I hear a low voice murmur something, and it takes my brain a minute to catch it: "Your socks are bitchin'!" the girl had said softly as we crossed paths. I reacted with a cheerful smile and a "Thanks!"

Erin over at A Dress A Day posted yesterday about Michelle Obama's inauguration dress (the lovely yellow/green lace), and how our new First Lady wore that dress:

Michelle Obama does what I advocate everyone should do: she wears what makes her happy. Could she have worn some boring royal-blue, be-Spanx-ed sheath, by Oscar de la Renta (no offense, Oscar, but you know what I'm talking about) and gotten relieved and approving nods from the Fashion Commentariat? You know she could. But she obviously loves those gloves: they made her happy, so she wore them. WITH a yellow wool lace Isabel Toledo!

I like Erin's take on Michelle Obama's dress (it was a great outfit), and on wearing clothes in general. I wear clothes that make me happy. You might remember knee socks on my list from yesterday, and today I wore a pair of black/red/grey argyle knee socks. I love them; I think they're cute; not to mention that they match the rest of my outfit (black pencil skirt, bright red Mandarin collared shirt, acessorized with a grey pearl bracelet, necklace with a square black pendant, and red earrings). I love it when all the various bits of my outfit coordinate just so.

It was amazing how differently I carried myself after I got the compliment. I walked a little taller and was smiling because I was happy and it was sunny and I had bitchin' knee socks. I was wearing an outfit that pleased me. As I walked into the coffee shop, I noticed several people (okay, mostly guys*) looking in my direction. As I made eye contact, we smiled and nodded at one another. I don't know if it was my confident step or my fun knee socks, but whatever I had, I apparently wore it well. If only I could live every day with that that kind of happiness and confidence--who knows what I might accomplish!

*I'm aware knee socks also convey a bit of the naughty school girl thing, but I don't care. They are cute; they make me happy; and they keep my legs warm without me having to wrestle into a pair of tights if I feel like wearing a skirt.

Dr. Horrible

From the mastermind of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Firefly, emerges Dr. Horrible. So you better go watch it. Why? It'll be gone tomorrow at midnight, and then you'll be one of the few not in the know.

Some choice quotations:

• "Like Bad Horse." "The Thoroughbred of Sin?" "Uh...I meant Ghandi."
  
• "The hammer is my penis."

There are many more, but I don't want to give anything away. Go, go. You'll love it.

Something Snow-Related

I love snow. It was flurrying the other day, and I cursed Arkansas for being fickle with me, especially on the snow-front. Capricious state. Give me my one snow day!

Anyway, I stumbled across this SnowDays site, which is fun--it lets you make your own snow flake! If you do a search for "Jenn" and "AR" you can see the one that I made. Pretty fun, a total time killer, and I can sort of believe it's snowing.

Sorry for the gap in posting as of late. Hopefully I'll work up some posting motivation soon, especially since I still need to talk about Spain...

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